A decent pub that caters for shoppers, sports fans and students.

The Venue
The Dew Drop Inn (a play on words?) is a rather pleasant cream coloured two-bar pub set back off the busy shopping parade section of Banbury Road. It pretty much has the monopoly here in a street where shops dominate and bars are extremely few and far between.

There’s plenty of seating outside and there’s even a tree growing out of the beer patio. Inside it’s all very tastefully decorated, mainly in chocolate browns, beiges and creams. There’s brown 70s style patterned carpeting and off-white wood panelled walls.

The furniture is a mix of old and new with Victorian style tasselled table lamps mixing it with modern square poufees which are almost out of step with its modern fairly luxurious decor. The Dew Drop is a very sports-friendly pub so there are screens in every corner. There’s a patio out the back too, with a few benches and a raised area at the end surrounded by shrubbery, flowers and strings of lights on the walls.

The People
Due to the multiple screens you get plenty of sports fans in here, supping away while trying not to miss the moment the goal goes in. Being the only pub in the area though it attracts just about everyone else including students and university tutors. One regular customer is Inspector Morse writer Colin Dexter and the pub is mentioned in most of his books.

The Food and Drink
The food consists of sandwiches, burgers and baguettes using British produce wherever possible - even the cheese and ham sarnie is made with thick-sliced local ham (although, to be honest, they could be more generous with it).

On tap you’ve got Timothy Taylor, Courage Best, Stella, Guinness, Adnam’s, Kronenbourg and Blackthorn and in bottles there’s Bulmer’s, Beck’s, Leffe, Newcastle Brown Ale and Corona. The wine list comprises of ten whites and eight reds, starting from £8.53 and going up to £18.80 a bottle (for an Argentinian Malbec Bonarda). They’re big on British produce and stock Aspall’s organic cider, Tenterton’s English rose and ethical English mineral water, Belu.

The Last Word
Although selling itself as a sports pub is a bit of an anomaly The Dew Drop hasn’t let its standards slip in terms of decor, food and drink. The odd celebrity author’s endorsement is no bad thing either.

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